Personnel management is a crucial part of doing business. Find out what you should (and should not) be doing to get the right team.
Managing your team is an essential part of doing business. And part of managing a team involves your ability to hire more and better employees, as well as determine when and what kind of employees to fire.
Admittedly, this ability may not be something that you are familiar with at the beginning.
It’s possible that in the early days of your business, you’ll find yourself doing everything on your own. That means you’re the salesman, you're the appointment setter, and you’re delivering the service. But this setup should never be permanent.
To help you acquire the ability to manage your team wisely, this article will teach you the dos and don’ts of personnel management.
The Dos & Don’ts
Do hire only if you have the time to train
Before you ever hire somebody, ask yourself the following questions:
- When would I train this person?
- What time could I give them?
- Am I prepared to train them?
If you can positively answer all these questions, then you can take the first step forward.
Before starting the hiring process though, you need to actually block time in your calendar for new hire training. It might take a few months, so go and reserve that time for training in advance.
If you don't have time to invest in training new team members, it is not the time to hire.
Do set the pay for a new hire before you meet them
Don’t just pay new hires what they’ve asked. Do your research and identify the going rate for the role that you’re hiring for. After all, an applicant may pitch you a higher number assuming that you’ll negotiate.
Here’s how you can avoid paying too much or losing a good candidate because you didn’t know the going rate for their position:
Set the pay before you ever meet the first candidate.
You could provide a pay range that depends on the experience and skill of your candidate. This way, when they state what they’re looking for in terms of salary, you’ll know if they will be a good fit or not.
Do refine your hiring process regularly
Your needs and your business’s needs change on a regular basis. So your hiring process must not be set in stone. Be open to refining your hiring process especially when it is truly necessary.
To find out whether your hiring process needs tweaking or not, talk to your team. Find out what kind of person they need. Make sure to talk to your managers as well.
Get the input of your people so that you can avoid making a mistake.
But as much as you’ll refine the hiring process over and over, you will inevitably let someone on the team that you shouldn’t have. All you can do, then, is learn from your mistake and let this person go as fast as humanly (or legally) possible.
Do listen to your gut feeling
Never ignore your gut feeling. If you can already spot red flags in a candidate as early as the first interview, then don’t be afraid to let them go. Some red flags include showing up late, their reference check seeming off, or they said something in the interview that they shouldn’t have.
Listen to your gut.
Whenever I failed to do this, I just ended up having to fire them down the road as the red flags grew bigger.
Don’t hire someone similar to yourself
You want to find your opposite because what you don't see, they will.
For example, if you’re really creative and can make beautiful graphics, hire someone that can complement your skill. Maybe hire a copywriter to catch typos. Or get a web designer who can help you with applying your graphics skills to create a good website.
More of you is not supposed to be what you’re looking for.
Unfortunately, business owners often end up with a team that looks just like them. But if you have this approach to hiring, this means your weakness is still the company’s weakness.
Hire out your weakness so the company becomes stronger.
Don’t rely on one recruiting source
Cast a wide net to catch your next hire. Don’t forget to use your social network and email list. You never know if your client has a sister-in-law that would be perfect for that role.
While websites like Indeed or LinkedIn are good places to start your search, they shouldn’t be the last.
So, ask other employees for recommendations and to share your job posting. Giving referral bonuses to current employees is another great way to hire quality people. After all, A-players hang out with other team players.
Some business owners fear that asking their network for employee referrals will look bad. But to many, that’s a sign of growth. And potential customers trust a business that’s growing.
Don’t wait too long
Desperate people hire desperate people.
You don’t want to be in the energy of “we’ll just take anyone” because you waited too long. That won’t be sustainable, not to mention lead to high turnover. And turnover of employees will cost you a ton of time and money in the long run.
If you know you’ll need to hire an extra set of hands in the next 3 months, start scouting for candidates as early as now. This will give you enough time to pick the best one for the job and improve employee retention.
Don’t hire alone
Hiring should never be a solitary task. While you can give the final say about who to hire in your business, you shouldn’t be the only one doing it.
For one thing, it can be quite taxing. But the biggest issue is this:
You can be so convinced by someone’s qualifications on paper, you end up missing the red flags in the interview.
A second opinion is critical because that person may notice things you missed. So, bring another team member, a manager, or even a spouse or a friend. It’s so helpful to have someone else with you during the hiring process.
If you’re doing a virtual interview, record it so someone else could watch after as well. Just be sure to let your applicant know.
Be Serious About Hiring and Firing
Hiring and firing is a skill set you must get good at. The people you bring on your team will drastically change your top line and of course your bottom line.
If you want to keep your A-players happy, let the B’s and C’s go and get more A-players. High performers only want to work with other high performers. If you allow underperforming, your key players will eventually get resentful and find a new place to work.
And that’ll take a toll on your business.
Now, if you want help in implementing these strategies in your hiring process… Schedule a free strategy session here: www.stacytuschl.com/call.
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